Page 3 of Freed

“What?”

“She bonded with another wolf!”

Blaze’s eyes go wide and he shakes his head. “No, she couldn’t have! You told me she’s my mate, that I was made for her.”

“Foolish boy,” the doctor says angrily, throwing my hand back at me as he turns toward the bench behind him.

He spins toward me, holding a large dagger, and I quickly try to move backward to climb off the other side of the bench, but Blaze grabs me and pulls me against his chest as he asks, “What are you doing, doc?”

“Her mate can sense her. He may even be able to track her through the bond. We don’t know what sort of powers she has.”

I don’t have any time to process what he says as he steps closer and tells Blaze, “Hold her still. Let’s make this quick.”

“Blaze, no! Don’t do this, please!” I beg. If he really thinks we’re fated mates, he’ll protect me.

He holds me tighter, securing my arms to my sides and making sure my chest is unobscured by the doctor.

“Three,” Blaze says with a sigh, as if I’m the one who doesn’t understand. “If you have a mate bond with someone else, we need to sever it.”

“No!” I cry, tears streaming down my cheeks as I struggle to break free.

Wolves can’t reform bonds. Once they’re gone, that’s it.

“Blaze, if you care about me at all, you won’t let him do this!” I tell him as I use my free foot to try to kick the doctor away.

“It’s because I care that I’m doing this,” he says as he moves one arm around my neck, the other around my stomach. He starts to squeeze so tightly that I’m unable to breathe. I try to turn my head, but he squeezes harder, his mouth right by my ear as he whispers, “That’s it, just go to sleep. It will all be over soon.”

I realize he’s planning to strangle me to death. Does he think this is a mercy over stabbing me? Before I can contemplate that any further, my vision darkens as I grasp at consciousness. Hoping I’ll be able to slip from his arms, I shift into my wolf form, but Blaze only holds me tighter.

Unable to move, to get out of his grasp, I resign myself to what comes next. Images of my mates fill my mind. Maddox’s sweetness, Hunter’s empathy, Gage’s intelligence, Chase’s playfulness, and Bain’s protectiveness.

I pray that no matter what happens to me, Maddox, Bain, and Gage survive this. They’ll survive the loss of a mate bond.

Hoping that somehow, wherever they are, they’ll be able to hear me, I yell through the bond, “I love you!” Right before Dr. J lifts the knife and stabs it straight into my heart.

So much for a merciful death.

Chapter 2

Maddox

Iempty the contents of my stomach right beside where I’m hunched over on Cherry’s bedroom floor.

Cherry.

She’s dead. The mate bond, severed. Another bout of nausea hits me, but the only thing left to come up is stomach bile. I hear my retching mirrored in Bain and Gage around the room.

My heart clenches so painfully it’s hard to breathe. I place a hand on the bed to steady myself as I try to push myself to stand.

Chase is trying to stop Bain from toppling into his own vomit while Hunter is helping Gage stand.

Hunter’s eyes find me as he whispers, “She can’t be gone.” His eyes are filled with the same desperation I feel. “She’ll come back again, right, Mad?”

“Of course she will,” I answer automatically, even though I’m not sure I believe it. We’ve seen it happen many times, but I’ve never quite felt it like I did this time. Of course, every supernatural knows the rumors of what it feels like to lose a bonded mate. Akin to losing a limb. And they say fated mates are far worse.

And now that I’ve experienced it, I’d have to agree. I’d far sooner give my right arm than to lose Cherry. It’s as if a part of me has literally died.

Because it has.